Although it has long been one of the founding concepts of Chicano identity, explored as myth, history and as a cultural utopia to be achieved in works by many Chicano writers, the idea of Aztlán presented by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales in "El plan espiritual de Aztlán" is not the same as when presented by later Chicano writers, most notably Gloria Anzaldúa. In Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, a key work of Chicana feminism, borderlands theory, queer theory and transnational feminism, Anzaldúa articulates a politics of Aztlán. Using Daniel Cooper Alarcón's concept of Aztlán as a metaphorical palimpsest, I argue that earlier Chicano movement views of Aztlán resurface in Borderlands, reasserting foundational concepts of Chicano nationalism at the same time that Anzaldúa rewrites them in her own feminist critique and reworking of the Chicano Movement to create a space for a transnational feminist practice. Although explicitly denying the utility of latinidad as a unifying concept for achieving political and social change, Anzaldúa does argue for a new mestiza consciousness that opens up the nationalist theories of Chicano identity to the space of the transnational.
Latino Studies (2004) 2, 304-321. doi:10.1057/palgrave.lst.8600104 |
